Growing on a Shadow
by JinxOfHearts1
Summary: All you can do is live your life, train hard to be the best kunoichi you can be, and maintain great friendships as you attain new ones. You will become a great jounin like your parents, and maybe marry your supportive boyfriend. It all sounds easy, until your heart leads you onto this confusing rollercoaster. KibaXReaderXShikamaru
1. Good Morning

"Today's the big day." You sighed nervously. You ran your fingers through your (your hair color) hair before tying your newly acquired headband, which gave you the right to call yourself a genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. You stared in the mirror for a moment, taking pride in the relief of the leaf symbol gracing your forehead. You worked hard to earn this. You studied and trained every night just to make sure you would pass the exam on the first try. You have never been the extremely studious type, but when you set a goal, you gave yourself no option but to reach it, and if anything got in your way, it was not a pretty sight.

A soft smile traced across your lips as you nodded to your reflection. "You're gonna do great." You say to yourself before grabbing your wallet and exiting your room. As you reached the bottom of the stairs, you were greeted by your mother whom to your surprise, presented you with a freshly made bento, wrapped in a navy blue scarf. "Mom?" you inquired "I thought you had a mission with dad this morning." Your mother chuckled as she placed the box into your hands. "Lord Hokage is allowing me to start a little late." She replied "Just because your father and I are jounin, doesn't mean that we have to miss out on your big day….Well, I certainly am not going to." You smiled widely, trying not to tear up. Your parents were high-demand jounin who spent most of their time on missions. Needless to say, you spent a lot of time alone. "Thanks mom." You said. You then headed to the door and casually waved your hand. "I'm leaving now!" You chirped before running to the academy.

You ran down the dirt path, past the Japanese-style buildings until you saw your destination draw near. A chuckle escaped your lips as the building grew larger and larger until—

_"Rawf!"_ a small white puppy had launched itself toward you, placing many slobbery licks all over your face. "Wah!" you yelled, falling backward from shock. The puppy continued his barrage of affection as you hit the ground until a familiar voice interrupted him. "Hehe, knock it off, Akamaru, that's enough!" the male voice chuckled. Akamaru wagged his tail and barked happily at the smiling figure that approached you. "Sorry about that, _." He chimed, allowing the puppy to jump on top of his head before extending his hand out to you "He kinda channels me when I'm excited. Especially if it's over a girl I've been looking forward to seeing all morning." He hoisted you up effortlessly, allowing you to dust off your black shorts "Kiba…" you replied, smiling softly.

"You can cut the dorky pup-pickup lines; I'm already your girlfriend, aren't I?"

Bearing his fangs in a wide grin, Kiba chuckled and entwined his fingers in yours; the fluff that matched his jacket sleeve tickled your wrist. "Yeah, but I still love the same stupid look you make every time I throw one at ya." You grimaced and gave the boy a soft flick on the forehead and continued walking toward the academy with him.

Kiba Inuzuka, the animal of the Hidden Leaf Village was a long time classmate of yours, and as of late, your boyfriend. You and Kiba had been friends since your first day at the academy, and had revealed his true feelings for you three months before you two became genin. The two of you always had great chemistry, so it only made sense for you to start dating; the fact that his puppy companion, Akamaru was crazy about you, also gave him the extra push to ask you out. You were hesitant at first, but couldn't possibly turn him down.

The two of you arrived at the academy hand-in-hand, meeting up with a few other familiar faces from your graduating class once you entered the classroom. "Good morning, Kiba." A quiet female voice almost whispered " and good morning, _."

"Hey, Hinata." Kiba replied

"Good morning,Hinata, ready for today?" You chimed.

"Oh, I guess so…. I'm just happy we all graduated."

"Oh yeah, our entire class graduated didn't it?"

"Yeah." Kiba scoffed "Everyone except for that loser, Naru—" Kiba realized he had spoken too soon when he saw a spikey-haired blonde with an orange jumpsuit pointing smugly at his headband. He was Naruto Uzumaki, the class clown and resident "loser" of the Hidden Leaf Village. He had a reputation of being a complete troublemaker on top of the fact that he failed the graduation exam three times. No one particularly cared for him, yourself included. You weren't exactly sure why. Sure, he was obnoxious, but you didn't go around disliking every person who has ever been obnoxious. Your parents just taught you to steer clear of him and that was that. Apparently, that's what the others were taught as well.

Naruto was talking to someone else you also didn't care for, a spiky raven-haired boy named Shikamaru Nara. Shikamaru was also your classmate and has always been a friend of Kiba's, so there really wasn't any escaping spending time with him. He wasn't a bad guy, just a little mean-spirited, which is what you couldn't stand about him. He made it blatantly clear that he was a complete sexist, and spent most of class time sleeping, which made you wonder how he ever passed the exit exams. To you, it was unfair, especially after you and many others worked so hard to pass. The bottom line: you hated that he had everything handed to him while he did nothing. The raven-haired teen finished his conversation with Naruto after you two other classmates, Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno burst in, yelling and fighting with each other as rolled his eyes and headed up the rows of seats in yours and Kiba's direction.

"Hey, Shikamaru, what's that idiot doing here?" he inquired, motioning to the blonde, who was smiling widely and the pink-haired Sakura. Shikamaru shrugged and rolled his eyes "Man, I dunno." He replied "Iruka-sensei must've lost his mind. What a drag… I was hoping we would have a quiet classroom for once. It's easier to sleep that way." You chuckled softly "The volume of the class has never stopped you before." You said "Besides, if you want to sleep, you should just stay home.". Shikamaru rolled his eyes and rubbed the crook of his neck "I don't need a lecture. I get enough of that from my mom." He replied coldly. You bit your tongue, annoyed with his comment. "You're mom's a smart woman, then." You retort. Shikamaru moves past you to his usual seat in the back of the classroom "If that's your idea of smart," he says lazily plopping himself into his chair "I don't wanna know what your idea of stupid is." "Hmph!" you pout, as Kiba guides you to a seat nearby. He laughed a bit, finding your little spats with Shikamaru beyond amusing.

Another few minutes passed. Strange what could happen within a few minutes. Naruto had somehow managed to kiss Sasuke Uchiha, the boy almost every girl in school liked, which then caused almost all the girls to nearly rip the blonde boy apart. Finally, Iruka, your teacher finally stepped in to tell you all what was going to happen now that you were genin.

A few more minutes were spent explaining how you all were to be trained, including the fact that you were all going to be assigned to squads and each squad would have a jounin training them. You smiled and glanced at Kiba "I hope we're in the same squad." You whispered to him. Kiba grinned and nodded in agreement, while Iruka continued on. "I will now announce the squads." He called, looking down at his paper.


	2. Squads

Iruka started naming off the squads. Some seemed happy with their assigned squads, and others seemed discouraged. "Squad 5…" he continued " Rino Tenjo, _ _, and Koki Chigusa." You looked across the room, spotting your squad members. Yes, you were disappointed that you couldn't be on a team with Kiba, but you had full confidence in your squad's abilities.

Rino Tenjo, of the Tenjo clan was a gentle soul, but was by no means a pushover. She always had her waist-length chestnut hair pulled back in a tight braid which she constantly toyed with whenever the teacher was giving a lecture. Her tan skin gave a beautiful contrast to her light green eyes that always seemed to pierce through your very soul. In Rino's case, with great beauty, comes an even greater beast. She had unbelievable strength in taijutsu and her clan's unique jutsu made her even stronger. Her family could concentrate heat from the sun and manipulate it in any way they pleased. At night, the jutsu was useless, but during the day, especially on a hot summer's day, it was almost deadly. With this ability, her clan was given a nickname: The Sun Thieves. The two of you generally got a long, but weren't close enough to call each other anything more than acquaintances. Needless to say, that would all change now.

Koki Chigusa on the other hand, was a tad more outgoing, almost impulsive. His raven hair was usually left in a spikey mess that often hung over his charcoal eyes. His pale hands were often fiddling with a straw that had clearly been chewed up. He smiled wide and waved to you and your team mates. Despite his often hyperactive nature, Koki specialized in genjutsu, and paired with his clan's signature jutsu, anyone caught in his attacks would no doubt be begging for mercy. The Chigusa clan harbored the ability similar to the Uchiha clan's Fire Ball jutsu. It was called, the Raging Ice jutsu. With that jutsu, he could conjure a thick fog that could freeze an opponent in his position and if used properly, could freeze his opponent's blood as it flows through its veins. Just like your relationship with Rino, you two weren't close enough to call each other friends, but close enough to call each other acquaintances. Koki and Rino however, were childhood friends and seemed more than excited that they were sharing a squad.

Iruka finished naming off the squads, and explained that you would be meeting with your jounin instructor after lunch. With that, he sent you all on your break. "Well, I'd better meet up with Shino and Hinata." Kiba said to you as everyone left the classroom. You nodded and tickled his palm with your pinky. "Don't give your sensei too much trouble." You joked, standing up on your tip toes to give Kiba a soft kiss on the bridge of his nose. "Heh." Kiba replied, wrapping his arms around your waist "I could say the same to you." Akamaru released a cheerful bark as though he were agreeing with his owner. You pouted and pinched his red painted cheek "What are you trying to say?" you inquired with a devious smirk.

"Owowowow! Nothing, I—"

"It sure sounds like you're trying to say something~"

"Grrr….." Kiba knew there was no way out of your painful grip "Y-you're just a bit of a perfectionist, that's all." You released your boyfriend's cheek, which snapped back into place like a rubber band. "What's wrong with that?" you replied, smiling "I just want to do well." Kiba chuckled and shook his head. "I know, _," he began "All I'm saying is don't be afraid to make mistakes. That's the best way to learn." A nice breeze caressed your skin as you two stepped outside. "Mistakes…." You repeated under your breath "I'll try." It irked you slightly that he would say that to you, but you knew he was right. Despite not dedicating all of your time to studying and training, you still didn't like to lose or make a mistake. If you did, you gave whoever was around you a hard time. You gave Kiba a wide smile and caressed the area you had pinched. "Do your best." You said. With that you two parted ways to join your new team mates.

"_!" Koki called out to you from a nearby tree. Rino sat on the swing that was hanging from the branch and waved to you as well. You smiled and walked over to them, giving them a gentle wave as you approached. "Hey guys." You reply. Koki took your right hand into his and shook it firmly. "This is pretty cool, huh?" he chimed "Rino and I were happy enough that we were put on the same squad, and now that we have someone from the _ clan, we'll be unstoppable!" You smiled shyly and chuckled a bit "Um, yeah that's pretty cool." You replied, walking over to Rino. She rocked her heels back and forth, making the swing move with her. "I wonder why they put the three of us together." She said, pushing herself further back on the swing so she could move forward quickly. "I mean, they said they formed squads based on how they balance each other out, but the three of us have never worked together before." You shrugged, agreeing that it was a little strange. "Well, a lot of the squads had people who never worked together, so they must take into account other things." You replied as you sat under the tree between Koki and Rino.

-Fast forward to after lunch time-

Over that short break, the three of you managed to bond a little. Despite each of you having different personalities, you seemed to mesh very well together. You and your squad stepped back into the academy building and made your way to the classroom in which you were to meet your jounin instructor. A strong odor filled the air as you drew closer to your destination. "Blech! What is that?!" Koki exclaimed, cupping his hand over his mouth and nose. You and Rino agreed, this sudden stench was horrid. You both mimicked you're male teammate's gesture in order to save what little oxygen you had. Once you reached the classroom, Koki opened the sliding door for you and Rino only to have the odor pierce through your hand barriers and cause the three of you to hack and wheeze. The smoke slowly cleared and revealed a tall male figure sitting on the desk, smoking a cigar. The man's short ebony hair was pulled back into a neat pony tail, defining his chiseled jaw. A bit of black stubble graced his bronze skin. He turned to the three of you and adjusted the headband on his forehead before taking another puff from the source of the odor. "You three are late." His gritty voice echoed sternly.

You raised an eyebrow in confusion. "That's ridiculous." You replied with a cough "We're right on time, the clock is right there, so you know I'm not lying." The man turned his head slightly to the clock on the wall behind him which read 12:30 on the dot. "Hmph." He scoffed, taking another drag from his cigar. "When you're my student, you either show up fifteen minutes before you're assigned time, or you just plain don't show up. In battle, the enemy won't just wait for you to get settled in." Koki coughed and clenched his fists "Wait…..YOU'RE our sensei?!" he cried "So….that means we have to deal with this stench all the damn time?!" Rino slams her palm against her forehead in disbelief. Granted, she was thinking the same thing Koki was, but there was no way she was going to openly disrespect her superior. "You'd better watch your tongue, boy." He calmly replied, smoke escaping through his teeth "I only smoke this kind for special occasions, like meeting my new genin. You should be damn honored that I chose this rare, expensive cigar to smoke around you. But maybe I was dumb for choosing to smoke it around someone who doesn't appreciate fine tobacco." You grimaced and glared at your sensei. _This is my new sensei? Really? _You couldn't believe that this smug jerk was going to be your teacher.

Taking another puff of his cigar, he strolled past you three and headed through the door. "Well, let's head outside then." He said apathetically "I guess I have to learn your names before I start teaching ya." You folded your arms and huffed. "Could you at least tell us who you are already?" you asked. He focused his brown eyes on you, Koki, and Rino before releasing a large cloud of smoke from his mouth. "I'm Nobu Takano." He responded coldly "And from now on, I'm in charge of you little punks.


	3. We ARE Genin!

A/N: Yeah this is a long one. It's been a while since I've written a fic and it feels good to do it again. Don't worry, the romance stuff is coming, I just want to establish your character and your team so this story will bemore fun to read. :)

* * *

You and your squad followed Nobu outside, relieved that the three of you could breathe fresh air again. Your scruffy sensei sat atop the swing you were sitting near at lunch time, and folded his arms. "Sit." He commanded with the cigar between his teeth. You, Rino, and Koki reluctantly complied and sat on the grass in front of him. He examined each of you silently before he pointed at Rino.

"You." He said "Tell me your name, and then tell me about your dream for the future." You found it odd how he could make a question like that sound as apathetic as asking if someone used toilet paper before leaving the bathroom. Rino twirled the end of her braid with her index finger. "My name is Rino Tenjo." She began "My dream is to be the first woman in my clan to become a strong shinobi." Nobu took another puff from his cigar "That's right." He responded; smoke escaping with each exhale "You're the first daughter to come out of the Tenjo clan, I hear. Must be strange growing up around nothing but boys, eh?" Rino immediately rested her arms on her bent knees and nodded, looking slightly discouraged.

Nobu nodded his head at Koki continuing this introduction process. "Oh, um…" Koki stuttered as he clumsily stood up "I'm Koki Chigusa! And my dream for the future is to prove that I can be just as good, or even better than my brother, Kei." Nobu chuckled and coughed slightly "Ah, your _younger_ brother, Kei. I've heard of him. He graduated the academy a year before you did, right? Somethin' about him being a little genius." Koki grunted, clearly annoyed by his teacher's statement. "Yeah." He replied as he plopped himself back onto the grass like a child who was just told he couldn't play outside.

Scratching his chin, he shifted his gaze toward you. "You're last, missy." He said "Introduce yourself." You looked up at him and scratched the back of your neck. "My name is _ _." You replied "And my dream for the future is to be a jounin like my parents." Nobu raised an eyebrow and took a large puff from his cigar. "And what else?" he asked coldly. You tilted your head to the side upon that question. "What do you mean? That's it. That's my dream." Irritation slowly turned into anger as your sensei shook his head. "That can't be it. That's too simple." He replied

"Every newbie here aspires to become a jounin, but they have goals beyond that. What do you want to accomplish by becoming a jounin?"

"Becoming a jounin is the accomplishment!"

"Wrong." Nobu retorted "Becoming jounin is a stepping stone to another goal. Look at your team mates; they both have something to prove with their dreams. They have a history to make, or an opponent to beat. You sound like you're looking for an easy way out." You clench your fists and pound them against the ground. "Well, that's just your opinion!" you yell, wondering why this guy was picking on you specifically. Nobu smirked "More often than not, my opinion is fact." Koki stood up once more "Leave her alone!" he yelled "Tell us your dream if you think hers is so lame!" Nobu cocked his eyebrow at your teammate and stood up as well. He took his cigar out of his mouth, which had now shrunk to a small nub, and extinguished it on the tree. "My dream? I have a few." He said, towering over the three of you "One of them, is to finally have one of my knucklehead squads make the cut to genin."

The three of you looked at each other in confusion, then back at your teacher. "Uh, hello? You see these?" Koki shot, pointing at his headband "We ARE genin. That's why we're here!" Nobu laughed "You really don't know, do you?" he began "Out of the 27 of you that graduate from the academy, only 9 of you actually become genin. The rest get booted back to academy." You and your team mates gasp. There was no sign of deceit in his eyes. "Then what's the point of having a graduation ceremony?" you ask, shocking tingles shooting through your fingers. Nobu coughed and shrugged "That's basically to see who is a good candidate for genin. I have the final say in whether or not you've earned that title." Rino huffed and stood up "With all due respect, sensei," she said "I don't think it's fair that they build us up for a title we haven't even earned yet." The older male smirked and pat Rino on the head, making a few strands of her chestnut hair spring loose from her tight braid. "Life isn't fair, kid." He responded "But you have the right idea. You earn the title of genin and if you're up for it, you can earn it today." Your teacher leapt from the ground to the roof of the academy. "Meet me at the training grounds in one hour! This is your true exam!" He called to you and your squad "If you were paying attention, you know when to really show up!" With that, he disappeared.

"This is bogus!" Koki exclaimed, kicking the ground, causing a cloud of dust to form. "I agree." Rino followed. Koki paced back and forth, continuing his rant. "How could they do that to us?! We worked so hard and they're just going to throw it back in our faces?!" You crossed your arms and huffed. "This blows." You mutter. Looking up at the academy building, you clenched your fists. "But…We won't get anywhere moping about it, right?" Rino glanced at you and smiled "That's true…. And if we pass whatever exam he's giving us, we'll have what we've worked for." Koki pouted and rolled his eyes "Ugh. I guess." He responded. The three of you nodded to each other. "Shall we wait for him at the training grounds then?" Rino asked, smiling. "Yeah! You and Koki replied before you all ran to the training grounds.

-40 minutes later—

You and your squad paced impatiently on the training grounds. You knew Nobu was going to be there soon. You had already caught on to the fact that when he set a time, he wanted you to show up fifteen minutes earlier, so you three decided to beat him to the punch. Ten more minutes passed, and there was still no sign of your sensei. The three of you looked around and even sniffed the air to try to catch a hint of those smelly cigars. Nothing. Not even a small burst. "Where is he?" you asked out loud. Koki grumbled "Don't tell me he's going to contradict what he told us earlier and show up on the hour!" he groaned, falling to his knees "Why are we being taken for a ride?" Rino sighed in embarrassment and walked over to Koki to help him back onto his feet. As she reached down to lift him, her eyes widened. She released a short gasp and looked over at you. "_! Duck! NOW!" She screamed, shooting a look into the woods.

You looked up, only to see a shuriken heading straight towards your face. At the last second, you dodged the flying object, hearing a loud thump as it hit the log behind you. "What the hell?!" you exclaim, frantically looking around to see who threw the weapon. Before you could take another step, you saw another shuriken coming your way. Thankfully you were able to dodge that one as well. Quickly, you turned around and grabbed the two shuriken from the log and threw them back in the direction the second shuriken came from. You heard a loud thump, followed by a splash. "Let's see who's messing with us!" Koki yelled, bolting into the woods. Rino gasped and followed after him "Koki, wait!" You followed your team mates to a small clearing in the trees where a small pond resided. No one was there. Just a log floating in its center with two shuriken stuck in the side. The three of you looked around in confusion. "No one is here…" You mumbled. You then heard a rustling in the leaves above you. You looked up and gasped. The sky was riddled with black specks, at a glance, they looked like birds or a swarm of insects. In reality, it was a barrage of shuriken about to rain on you and your squad.

"Wah!" you screamed in terror. _What is this? Someone is trying to kill us! _You thought to yourself, trying with all your might not to panic. Koki ran toward the pond and swung his arm into the water, flinging it upward, creating a sheet of water in above him. "Water style, Giant Ice Shield jutsu!" he shouted. With a strong exhale, the stream of water grew into a large umbrella-like sheet of ice; it looked like he was blowing glass. This grand mass blocked the shower of shuriken that fell toward you. However, expanding the ice made it grow thin and weak. Within seconds, the ice shattered, creating small shards that paired with the shuriken that none of you could avoid. The three of you screamed in pain as the icicles cut your skin and flailed frantically, trying to block the shuriken. However, something was strange. While the shards of ice left painful cuts on your bodies, the shuriken hadn't hit you. You saw them falling in front of you, but you didn't feel even one hit you. Rino and Koki also caught on to that strange fact. "Of course!" Koki exclaimed, wiping the blood off his lip "They're illusions! It's a trap!" Before you could respond, you felt something tug fiercely at your ankle, then yank you upward onto the highest branch of the nearest tree. Like lightning you were pulled through branches, losing your kunai back along the way. Finally, when you could see the Hokage statues, you stopped.

Your heart raced as you looked down. You were up so high, and hanging upside down made this scary situation even scarier. "Fuck!" you swore, trying to reach your ankles so you could run free. It was no use. You had terrible core strength and in this situation, it basically meant you were screwed. You examined the trees beneath you to see small explosions burst between them. _Ugh! What's going on?! _You thought to yourself. You started to worry about Rino and Koki, wondering if they too were caught in a trap. You inhaled deeply in attempt to calm yourself down. You looked up at your restrained ankle, which started throbbing due to the halted circulation. You winced from the pain and gazed at the branch the rope was attached to. "That's it!" You cried in relief "Well, mom and dad, it's time to put our family's jutsu to use!" You pressed your hands together, preparing to concentrate your chakra, then quickly did the hand signs your parents taught you. "Earth style, Tree Serpent jutsu!" You immediately felt the tree vibrate as it bent forward, gliding in a snake-like motion. As the top moved below you, you swung yourself on top, quickly untying the rope around your ankle and surfing the tree as it moved back to the area from which you were taken. "Here I come guys!" you shouted triumphantly as you drew closer to your team mates. Once you were close enough to the ground, you hopped off the tree, next to Rino. "_!" Rino screamed happily "I'm so glad you're alright!" You smiled and chuckled softly "Likewise." You replied

You looked around only to notice Koki was missing. "Rino, where's Koki?" you ask with deep concern. Rino closed her eyes and shook her head "I don't know! One minute these smoke bombs went off in our faces, and the next thing I know, Koki disappeared! I'm so worried!" You grunt, looking around frantically, getting ready for another attack. "Don't worry, we'll find him." You reassure her, looking for something you could use as a weapon. "Oh, good! I hope so!" Rino cheerfully responded "I'm so glad you're on my team, _! I was hoping I'd be fighting alongside such a close friend!" _Ugh… This isn't the time nor the place Rino. _You think to yourself grimacing _Besides, we barely started really talking til today, I don't know why-_ You paused for a moment and looked back at Rino. That's when you noticed it: she had NO injuries! "I should have caught that right off the bat." You say angrily, getting into a fighting stance. Rino cocked her head to the side. "Game's over. Who are you and what did you do with Rino?!" You charge at the figure in front of you and land a powerful kick on the side of her head, only to confirm your suspicion: it was another illusion. "Grr…" you grumbled "Where- wah!" You felt your ankle being yanked hard once again, this time into the bushes. _Aw man, not again! _You violently whip your body around, trying to escape this mysterious grasp. "No-!" You were interrupted by a cold, dirty hand clasping your mouth. "Shh!" The culprit said, pressing his index finger against his split lip. It was Koki!

You shiver slightly unsure if it was the real Koki or another fake, but after examining his injuries, you knew it was him. You look to your other side and see a frazzled Rino with her face covered in soot. Koki removed his hand from your face and looked out from a small opening in the bushes. "This is insane." He whispered, his voice gritty from fatigue "It's our first day after graduation and someone's already trying to kill us!" You nod in agreement, shifting your gaze to Rino. "What happened?" you asked as she tried to wipe some of the black dust off of her face. "I tried to set the trees on fire with a large heat wave." She replied "But whoever is out there threw smoke bombs in my face and threw off my concentration." You peer out of the same opening in the bush to see if anyone would pass by. Koki turned to Rino "Hey," he began "How did you know that the first shuriken was coming? I was just as close as you were to that area and I didn't even hear it coming." Rino glanced at Koki "I didn't need to hear it." She replied "I felt it." You raised an eyebrow, not understanding how that was possible. "What do you mean you felt it?" you inquired.

Rino folded her fingers and carefully scanned the area. "It's my family's kekkei genkai." She explained "I can sense heat. Whether it is a fire burning, or someone standing nearby. In that case, the shuriken had just left the assailant's hand, leaving a small amount of body heat on the point it was held. Just enough for me to know it was coming." You nodded as you listened to Rino's explanation. "However," she continued "In the case where we had the ambush of shuriken, they came from such a long distance; it had time to cool, so I couldn't sense them…. Of course, that was before we found out they were illusions." You and Koki sigh and look around. Still nothing. "Hey Rino." Koki whispered "Do you sense anyone, besides us, in the area right now?" Rino blinked and blushed in embarrassment "Hehe….I haven't thought of that…." She admitted with a chuckle. You both grunted and folded your arms, shooting Rino a glare as though you were saying "WHY didn't you think of that before?" Rino sighed and waved her hand softly "Hang on, just let me concentrate. It's a little hard with you two so close to me." Rino placed her hands together and sat silently. As you waited, Koki cocked his head upward.

"Hey, do you smell that?" he asked, suddenly sniffing the air.

"Yeah…I do." You reply, mimicking his action.

"It smells…bad."

"Yeah….and a bit…familiar."

At that point, you and Koki new EXACTLY what was going on, and Rino then nodded at the two of you. "It's two trees across from us. It's just one person." She whispered in a serious tone. You smirk and look in the general direction of where Rino described. "I see what's going on here." You mumbled. Koki chuckled a bit as well. "Yeah, me too." He replied deviously. You scratched the nape of your neck and examined your surroundings. "I think I have a plan…." You said "I'm not sure how well it's going to work, but if we time it right… I think we can do it." Koki and Rino gathered closer to you "Let's hear it." They said quietly. You quickly share your idea, which made your team mates grin. "It's risky," Rino whispered "but it just might work." Koki chuckled and gave a thumbs up. "Let's do this!"


	4. Team Work

Rino stepped into the open clearing near the pond, her kunai at the ready. She looked around, cautiously, wary of any possible traps. She heard the loud swish of multiple shuriken being thrown her way, she gasped, then smirked as the shuriken hit her, revealing that it was just an illusion conjured by Koki.

Koki narrowed his gaze, pin pointing where the shuriken were coming from. "There!" he shouted to you. You nodded and quickly did your hand signs. "Earth style, Tree Serpent jutsu!" you shout, causing the large roots of the tree behind you to lift and transport Koki to your assailant's position. You heard rustling in the trees; you knew your attacker was running. "Do it, Koki!" you shouted following him on the ground below. Koki placed his palms together and pointed his fingers directly in front of him. "Release!" he shouted, sending a small shockwave in front of him has you made the root he stood upon move faster. Your suspicion was correct. The genjutsu sent out by Koki revealed that your attacker was indeed your sensei.

Nobu coughed and smirked "Alright, so you punks found me." He called out to you and Koki "Now what?" Koki grinned deviously "This!" he retorted "Water Style, Raging Snow jutsu!" The raven-haired teen took a deep breath and exhaled a strong burst of snow, which raged after the older man. Nobu flipped backward to dodge the attack, unfortunately allowing a fairly thin coat of ice cover his equipment bags. A loud, gritty laugh escaped Nobu's lips. "Is that all you've got?" he asked smugly, pointing at the ice that donned his hips "You missed your target!" Koki chuckled and folded his arms. "No, I didn't." he calmly replied. Nobu raised an eyebrow, just before you jumped up on the root where Koki stood. "Vine Paralysis!" you shouted. The vines covering the tree Nobu stood upon whipped in his direction. He swiftly kicked them out of the way to avoid being caught. "Now, Rino!" you yelled, sending more vines against your sensei.

Rino jumped down from the adjacent tree, her clenched fist glowing yellow. She steadied herself just right so she could land next to Nobu. "Sun Fist!" she screamed, landing directly next to the distracted instructor. As her fist hit the branch, a small heat wave emitted from the point of impact. Enough to create a little smoke, but not enough to badly burn someone. Nobu coughed and waved the smoke out of his face and laughed. "That was your big strategy?" he chortled "You kids have some seriously bad aim. You could have at least tried to hit me! Ninja 101, runts, focus on a target and try to hit the damn thing!" The three of you folded your arms and smirked. "We know, sensei." Rino replied. "We did focus on a target." You continued. Koki chuckled and pointed at Nobu. "And we gave it a deadly blow." The elder male cocked an eyebrow and noticed something odd: his legs were soaking wet. His bronze face turned ashen as he reached for his equipment bags. "You little….." he muttered, turning them upside down only to find that his precious cigars were completely ruined.

Nobu fell to his knees and cradled the squishy mess of tobacco and rolling paper in his hands. "My favorite cigars!" he cried in agony "They're very expensive because the tobacco inside is extremely rare! And you little jerks ruined them!" Child-like tears streamed down Nobu's cheeks as he held the wet tobacco out to Rino. You sighed and laughed "One thing that we never forgot in the academy, sensei." You said "Find an enemy's weakness, and exploit it." Brushing the smelly material off his hands, Nobu gathered himself and sat on the tree branch where he stood.

"I gotta hand it to you." He began "While you still have a long way to go, you guys have pretty decent strategic skills. Each of your individual jutsu needs work, but nothing a lot of training won't fix." Koki gasped happily and scratched the back of his head. "Does this mean we—" Koki began. "Yes." Nobu interrupted "Congratulations, you little punks, you pass. Your real training starts tomorrow!" You, Rino, and Koki jumped up and down in excitement. You couldn't believe it. You were all full-fledged genin.

-Fast forward to evening-

You and your team mates parted ways for the day and started to head home. As you approached the half-way point, you see the shadows of a boy with an extremely fluffy jacket and a small puppy. "How long were you waiting here, Kiba?" you asked as you drew closer to the smirking youth. As Kiba moved toward you, he sniffed the air and his eyes widened "Ugh!" he shouted, covering his mouth and nose. Akamaru leapt into Kiba's jacket whimpering. You raised an eyebrow and stepped forward. "What? What is it?" you asked, trying to place your hand on your boyfriend's shoulder. Kiba jolted backward and shivered like a scared dog. "That…" he muttered "That smell! It's awful! What the hell happened to you?!" You paused for a moment and let out a sigh of defeat. "Oh… I guess I got so used to it, I didn't notice…" you replied, lifting the collar of your shirt to your nose and taking a whiff. "My sensei has…a less than pleasant habit that rubs off on us….I'm sorry" You couldn't help but feel guilty. You knew it wasn't your fault Kiba was on the verge of vomiting, but you hated seeing him in pain, no matter what the cause. Kiba saw the sadness in your eyes and stood up properly, his fingers still firmly clasped onto his nose "It's alright, not your fault." He responded, placing a hand of your shoulder "Besides, being smelly will be something we'll both get used to after all the missions we're gonna get." He chuckled and started walking you home.

You smiled at him and giggled at how silly he sounded as he tried to have a conversation with his nose plugged. "Why did you wait for me?" you asked "It's kinda late, I'm sure your mom is wondering where you are." Kiba chuckled and shook his head. "She'll live." He said "I don't like you walking home alone, so I want to make sure you get home safe." You pouted "I'm not a baby." You replied "I can take care of myself. I am a genin after all." The two of you stopped in front of your house. Kiba snaked his arms around your waist and forced his lips against yours. "Yeah, but you're still my girl." He growled "And I don't want any jerks messing with you." A soft blush graced your cheeks as you place a gentle kiss on Kiba's lips. "Thank you." You whisper, caressing his arms. Kiba stared at you with hunger in his eyes "Now…" he began, allowing his fingers to travel to your waist. It sent shivers down your spine. "You'd better go shower!" Kiba's fingers plugged his fingers once more. You glare at the animal-like boy before smacking him upside the head. "Good night, jerk." You replied, giggling as you went inside.


End file.
